Christy Eichelberger, 51, of Altoona, speaks in this IowaWatch Connection report about being devastated when thieves stole her identity to make online purchases in 2003. They hacked her eBay account and stole $1,300.

Restoring her identity was not easy, Eichelberger said. “There were extra steps that we had to take to make sure that I really was who I said I was,” she said.

In 2015, Iowa recorded 2,214 total impersonation reports. But more than one victim was targeted in some incidents. In all, 2,558 Iowa victims were involved in those 2015 cases.

Tracy Loynachan, a statistical research analyst at the Iowa Department of Public Safety, said the vast majority of these victims were individuals, while the others were business, financial institutions, governments, unrecorded or unknown.

You will hear in this podcast from identity theft victims, security experts and the journalists who compiled this report as an IowaWatch/Simpson College journalism project. To learn more about the IowaWatch Connection and previous programs go to this link.

TO LEARN HOW IOWAWATCH’S NONPROFIT JOURNALISM IS FUNDED AND HOW YOU CAN SUPPORT IT, GO TO THIS LINK.

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We talk with Shane Cox, a Simpson College associate professor of accounting, about the ways an average person views cyber security, what that person thinks about identity theft and how to protect personal information. Cox gives us an “average person” look at cyber security. Part of a series.